Vaca Brava

The original location is closed for renovation
This is the Old San Juan location
We heard nightmares about wait time, so we called ahead & made reservations. Glad we did, we were seated immediately.
Vast unique menu. Prices ‘seem high’ however upon delivery of their enormous portions made to share you’ll see that it’s quite a bargain for groups of any size.
Food was very good, customer service was quick & efficient

I came with the family to this place since I heRd a lot about the restaurant. Yes, the portions are big, but the prices are very high too. The meats we got for El Tendedero were second class, hard, and full of tendons. I asked for medium cooked steaks and they were served rare. Sangria was very expensive for what we got. Service was ok. You can get better steaks at Long horn Steakhouse.

Just ate here and disappointed with food. Plantains were old and dry. Mofongo was dry. Beef is subpar over or under cooked. First and last.

I’ve always wanted to try Vaca Brava for the longest time. I finally went today and was COMPLETELY dissappointed… The service ignored us completely, even when the restaurant was empty. The food can be the best, but if the service is bad, they will not find me there… Not recomended!

This place is where MAN VS FOOD lost to «La Vaca Acosta.»
Known for its BIGGER THAN LIFE dishes, my boyfriend and I set out on an adventure to experience this place. We arrive at our destination and this place was freaking CLOSED!

What a big adventure this was! 9 of us decided to give it a try and man i am glad we did!
The drive up to Vaca Brava is a real adventure but once you get there you get treated for the effort!
Awesome setting next to a creek, huge dining area that seats maybe 400 guests. Plenty of things for the kids to do while waiting.
Huge steaks is an understatement! This place has the biggest steaks and portions i have ever seen! I mean they are that big that all 9 of us were full and still had half of whatever we order (just 2 items off the menu — total price of $ 110!!!). So order a to go box when you order your food, you will need it!
Steaks are not the best i had but they are good. The beef is great. Pork is ok. Sausages are great! We also had the pork ribs (like 4 lbs for $ 36) and they were good tasting.
Drinks are very well priced.
If you dont like to wait DONT go there, later on you will complain for waiting 2 hours to get seated!
DO yourself a favor and try this place next time you visit PR. You will love it!

Big adventure meets bigger food! Vaca Brava is a full day ordeal, so plan ahead. Not the best meat I’ve eaten, but the setting & ambiance (very lively Texas-​style BBQ in the jungle), make it well worth the trip, if you’ve got the time.
Six of us split the 9lb angus sirloin platter and topped it off with a couple slices of their chocolate cake. We had plenty to eat, at a reasonable price. The «clothesline» of meat looked really good, and a little more lean. I’d recommend that, if you’re not a fan of some fat on your sirloin steak.
The service was better than average, by PR standards. Good live music on a Sunday afternoon, too!

Love this place. I proposed to my wife there (hand and knees and all) the food was absolutely fantastic. They sure didn’t disappoint. There was no lines like other reviewers say. And then to top it off the place is also an episode on ‘Man Versus Food’ Every time I see the show it brings back a flood of happy memories there. I’m definitely going back and I can’t wait to get there.

The worst service, the most tasteless food, fatty, low-​quality meat and super expensive prices. Absolutely the worst restaurant in Puerto Rico. They make you wait, with no air conditioning for garbage. I have had MUCH better food from street vendors. To pay $ 75 for the worst quality, most tasteless food I have ever eaten is quite the insult. Man v food should be ashamed. I am sure they made it better for them, then they did for me and my group of 8. They added in their tip, so thats all they cared about. No time for refills. I hate having to remind servers I am thirsty. They can see my empty glasses but either dont care or are understaffed. The owners obviously dont care because the place is a trap, and is constantly busy and overpriced. Spend your money elsewhere. I will give you more than $ 200 reasons I wish I had. I am only sorry I couldnt have thrown up afterwards. This place is the biggest waste of money and time… STAY AWAY! 0 stars!

Excellent customer service.
Location was wonderful — beautiful view good to explore Puerto Rico
The food was great.
Great place for a family affair.
some things were over price

Great food, great service! Plan it as a full day event… Come hungry, and be ready for a sporty mountain drive.

Order a to-​go box right away or come with a group of meatlovers! This place serves monster sized portions of tasty beef along with onion rings and yummy sauce galore.
We were a group of 5 and, even though we were ravenous, could not finish the platter. Set in rustic, farmlike décor complete with wooden cattle runners, hay, and lanterns this place is a must!
Bring your camera and your appetite! :D
Also, check out their sister store VBrave in Naranjito — very stylish shoes, bags and accessories.

Apparently this place serves up some GINORMOUS steaks and is well known for there amazing meat. So, the other day in San Juan we spoke with a few locals that mentioned how amazing this place was and we had to try it! We found their number and called to find out days/​hours of operation. The man I spoke with said that they were open Thursday-​Sunday and their hours on Thursday, which was when we were planning on going, were 12 – 8. We drove 3 hours from Aguada (LONGEST drive on the windiest road up the hugest mountain EVERRRR)!!! We got there at 5:45pm and they were CLOSED!!! Thank God for the little place right at the top of the hill that supposedly served the same food!
The drive to Vaca Brava was seriously a religious experience that I will never attempt again!

You are probably looking at one of Unilocal.com’s most special reviews, and its sad you don’t even know why…
There is a legend of a place, in the mountains of barranquitas at which hundreds of people have steaks and ribs and the like that are in huge proportion… There is no address, its just a street and a Marker and if you find it, you are special and if you dont well, you better find something else to eat… This is one of my hidden treasures…
Directions (very very serious)
9.3 km on the 771 in barranquitas. Winding roads and picturesque views as you drive into the mountains. The drive itself for a driving enthusiast is worth the trip.
Situated next to small river, this campus of a restaurant is huge like nothing I have ever seen. Down a ramp off the 771, there are Easily 1500 people waiting. Imagine, Kids taking pictures in a vaca brava Cow cut out, People all over shopping interacting, waiting. There are vendors outside the restuarant. They are selling plants (a stand labeled «el jardin de la vaca»), toys, vegetables, oranges, shoes, hats, jewelry and other items, including of course, balloon moneys and cows from one affectionately labeled «el kiosco de la vaca».
The magnitude reminds me of a fair. The grounds have different intricate scare crows. some like gypsies in houses, others doing farm work.
Décor: think texas bbq. A woodent structure seating approximately 400 – 500.
Parking: don’t go down that ramp from the road into the hidden little city. Best bet: park on the side of the street on the 771. Then just walk it. It will save you serious time.
How this works: you think you see the place. You don’t. Keep walking to the other side of the structure. Take note of the river. Don’t stop. Go straight to the area where the huge fair like sound system is calling out first and last names. There will be a serious line. Get on and eventually give the hostess your name and how many in your party. Ok now you are free. Expect a wait of AT LEAST two HOURS. Could be seriously longer. This is why there is like a fair type vibe going. There is a bar if u want go over and order some medalla (the puerto rican beer which is light and pretty good) or a corona or something good. there is a pool table and there are arcade games. some of the stands take visa and mastercard for their crafts and jewelry.
How this works:
Parking:
There is parking but its full pretty quickly, by noon there were over a thousand people down there. Do what you can to cope. Street is probably quickest (like literally, i left my car on the side of the highway).
Food:
Enough for two people, easily. Ribs like the Flinstones. Each order of steak was like $ 25 and had about 32 ounces. I had two orders of steak on my plate. Imagine. it was double the size of my head.
Waterfalls down the road… these are not the ones you see… the river goes into a waterfall but you haveto drive down the highway alittle more to a small place where you can see it clearly. its amazing…
Getting there we dealt with Crazy road. Going back I went another way programmed by my GPS and it was a scary adventure. We went miles up into the mountains and the road turned into someones house. The roads on the wrong turn were steep like i have never seen, winding and if I had made a mistake I would have fallen off the mountain and dropped for quite some distance. Please be careful to stay on the main roads. If something does not look right, it probably is not. While on our way back, a member of our group driving an suv got stuck. It was pretty crazy (during the wrong turn adventure). We got the SUV out but it was pretty crazy.